Nixa Now Seeks to Fill Two Vacant Council Seats

Nixa Now Seeks to Fill Two Vacant Council Seats

August 31, 2022

Vacant Council Seats

Interested in serving on Nixa City Council? The City of Nixa is now accepting letters of interest from Nixa residents in Districts 1 and 3 who would like to be considered for filling the city council seats vacated by Amy Hoogstraet and Justin Orf. The deadline for letter submission for both seats has been extended to 4:00pm on Friday, September 16th.

Amy Hoogstraet informed the city administration of her intent to resign her District 1 council seat on September 6, effective immediately. Hoogstraet was elected in April of 2021 to a 3-year term.

Justin Orf resigned his District 3 seat effective August 31st after announcing his intent to resign at the August 15 council meeting. Orf was re-elected in April this year to a 3-year term.

Both seats will be on the ballot in April of 2023. At that time, residents of District 1 will vote to select someone to represent them for the final year of Hoogstraet’s term while residents of District 3 will elect someone to represent their district for the remaining 2 years of Orf’s term.

To prevent the seats from remaining vacant in the meantime, Nixa City Council will appoint interim council members from Districts 1 and 3 to serve in the roles through the April election.

District 1 is roughly described as being north of Northview Street to west of Main Street and north of North Street to east of Main Street (north area of Nixa).

District 3 is roughly described as being south of Rt. 14 and west of Main Street (southwest area of Nixa).

Letters of interest

Letters of interest should include the following information:

• Your full legal name and current address (to verify that you are a resident of the district you are applying to represent).
• Certify that you meet the requirements and qualifications for serving on city council.*
• Describe why you are interested in serving on city council.
• Describe any relevant prior experience.
• Describe why you believe you should be selected to serve on city council.

Deadline for Application

Letters should be returned to the City Clerk at Nixa City Hall by 4:00pm on September 16, 2022.

Mailing address for letters of interest:

ATTN: City Clerk
Nixa City Hall
P.O. Box 395
Nixa, MO 65714

Selection Process

The Mayor and City Council members will review all letters submitted to the City Clerk by deadline. At the next city council meeting, scheduled for 7pm on September 19th at Nixa City Hall, all candidates who submit letters of interest are invited to speak for up to 5 minutes to the council regarding why they should be considered.

Then, at the council meeting scheduled for September 26, council will vote to appoint interim members to the vacant city council seats. If nominees are approved by the council at that meeting, the newly appointed council members will be sworn in at the September 26 council meeting and will immediately join the council for the remainder of that meeting’s agenda.

Requirements & Qualifications

The requirements and qualifications for council outlined in the city charter are:

• You must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Nixa for one (1) year at the time of filing.
• You must be a resident of the District for which you are seeking office and must be registered to vote in that District and must remain a resident of the District during the time of service.
• When you file for candidacy, you will be asked to complete a declaration of candidate required by the County Clerk. It states you have:
  • reviewed the qualifications for office
  • have never pled guilty or been convicted of a felony
  • have no outstanding campaign financial disclosure reports
  • are not delinquent in payment of taxes
  • and have reviewed the “notice to candidate” showing which individuals are required to file a Financial Interest Statement with the Missouri Ethics Commission.